Stockwell

Stockwell is a district in South West London, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated 2.4 miles (3.9 km) south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell.

This article is about the area called Stockwell in London, England. For other places and other meanings, see Stockwell (disambiguation).

Stockwell

Flats on Grantham Rd.
Stockwell
Location within Greater London
OS grid referenceTQ305755
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLONDON
Postcode districtSW4, SW8 and SW9
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
London Assembly

History
A map showing the Stockwell ward of Lambeth Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916.

The name Stockwell is likely to have originated from a local well, with "stoc" being Old English for a tree trunk or post. From the thirteenth to the start of the nineteenth century, Stockwell was a rural manor at the edge of London. It included market gardens and John Tradescant's botanical garden – commemorated in Tradescant Road, which was built over it in 1880, and in a memorial outside St Stephen's church. In the nineteenth century it developed as an elegant middle-class suburb. Residents included the artist Arthur Rackham, who was born on South Lambeth Road in 1867, moving with his family to Albert Square when he was 15 years old. Another famed cultural figure who was born in Stockwell in October 1914, was theatre director Joan Littlewood, who has been called the mother of modern theatre.

Its social and architectural fortunes in the twentieth century were more mixed. The area immediately around Stockwell tube station was extensively rebuilt following the Second World War, and the original domed tube station was replaced first in the 1920s, then again with the opening of the Victoria line in 1971.

The area also has much social housing; the main estates are Lansdowne Green, Stockwell Park, Studley, Spurgeon, Mursell and Stockwell Gardens. However, many remnants of the area's nineteenth-century grandeur can be found in the side and back streets of Stockwell, notably in the Stockwell Park Conservation Area,[1] mostly built between 1825 and 1840 and centred on Stockwell Park Road,[2] Stockwell Park Crescent,[3] Durand Gardens, and Albert Square. The only twentieth-century building of significant architectural interest in the area is Stockwell Bus Garage. Before the creation of the County of London in 1889, Stockwell was part of Surrey.

In 1986, Kenneth Erskine, a serial killer dubbed the 'Stockwell Strangler', killed seven elderly victims, three of whom were from Stockwell.[4]

Politics

Stockwell[5] is a ward in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is currently represented by three Labour councillors: Lucy Caldicott, Dr. Mahamed Hashi and Mohamed Jaser.[6] At parliamentary level it is in the Vauxhall constituency, represented by Labour MP Florence Eshalomi.

From 1979 to 1982, future Labour MP and New Labour 'spin doctor' Peter Mandelson was a ward councillor.[7]

Places of interest

Schools

There are three schools in Stockwell ward[5] - St Stephen's,[8] Allen Edwards[9] and Stockwell Primary School - and also a campus of Lambeth College.[10] In the Stockwell area (on Clapham Road) there is also Platanos College,[11] a secondary school, Lansdowne School and numerous primary schools including Van Gogh Primary.

Churches

In addition to Anglican and Catholic churches, Afro-Caribbean communities have influenced the expression of Christianity in the area, with a variety of congregations, some sharing churches with more long established Anglican and Catholic congregations. One of the many Afro-Caribbean churches is C.A.C. Stockwell.

Population of Stockwell

Stockwell and neighbouring South Lambeth are home to one of the UK's biggest Portuguese communities, known as 'Little Portugal'. Most of the local Portuguese people originate from Madeira and Lisbon and have established many cafes, restaurants, bakeries, neighbourhood associations and delicatessens. Stockwell is also home to many people of Caribbean and West African origin. They are also well represented in the local population, and cafes, grocers, barbers' shops and salons run by people from these communities are scattered around Stockwell.

Stockwell war memorial and shelter

Famous former and current residents of Stockwell include David Bowie, John Major,[12] Gary Raymond, Lilian Bayliss, Edward Thomas, Vincent van Gogh (briefly), Violette Szabo, Joanna Lumley, Jerry Dammers, Roger Moore, Roots Manuva, Adam Buxton, Joe Cornish,[13] Nathaniel Clyne, Dot Rotten, Will Self, former Scottish Labour Party leader Jim Murphy, and footballer Paul Davis, who played for Arsenal..

Stockwell shooting

On 22 July 2005, following the 21 July 2005 London bombings, Stockwell gained notoriety as the scene of the shooting by police of an innocent Brazilian electrician, Jean Charles de Menezes, on a tube train.

Locale

Nearest places

Transport

Rail

There are several railway stations in and around Stockwell.

London Underground

Stockwell tube station is served by the Victoria and Northern London Underground lines.

Stockwell Station

To the south, the Victoria line terminates one stop away at Brixton. The Northern line terminates in the south at Morden, which provides Stockwell with a direct link to Clapham and South Wimbledon.

To the north, the Victoria line runs through Central London towards Walthamstow Central, stopping at several key stations including Victoria, Oxford Circus, King's Cross St Pancras and Tottenham Hale. The Northern Line carries passengers northwards towards Kennington and Camden Town. Most trains from Stockwell run through the City of London via Elephant & Castle, Bank and Moorgate. Some trains run on the Charing Cross Branch via Waterloo, Charing Cross and Tottenham Court Road. Beyond Camden Town, the Northern line links Stockwell directly to Edgware and High Barnet in north London.

Other nearby stations include Brixton (Victoria line) or Clapham North (Northern line) to the south of Stockwell, and Vauxhall (Victoria line) or Oval (Northern line) to the north.[14]

In 2017, there were 11.7 million entries and exits at Stockwell tube station.[15]

National Rail & London Overground

There is no National Rail station in Stockwell, but several stations can be found in the locale:[14]

Road

Several major roads pass through Stockwell, including:

The A23, A202, A203 and A3 are managed by Transport for London (TfL).[17]

Most other roads are residential.

Pollution

Pollution around Stockwell has been a concern for local health professionals and authorities since the mid-2000s, largely owing to the number of arterial routes in the neighbourhood.

A 2010 study found that, in Stockwell, 7 deaths each year could be attributed to exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5), compared to 139 in the London Borough of Lambeth as a whole in the same year (2008).[18] Road traffic is a primary source of air pollution in Lambeth.[19]

In 2016, Clapham Road south of Stockwell was identified by the local authority as an area of concern when it came to tackling air quality in the Borough, as this section of road is "exceeding EU limits for the gas Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)."[20] Lambeth monitor air quality on Clapham Road in Stockwell using Diffusion Tubes.[21]

Buses & coaches

London Buses routes 2, 50, 88, 155, 196, 333, 345, P5, N2 and N155 serve Stockwell.[22]

Some National Express coaches pass through Stockwell, with some services towards Gatwick Airport, Worthing, Bognor Regis and Eastbourne stopping in the area.[23]

Cycling

Cycle Superhighway 7 (CS7) follows Clapham Road through Stockwell, largely on cycle lanes to segregate cyclists from other road traffic. The signed cycle route carries cyclists from Colliers Wood and Tooting Bec in the south, through Stockwell, to Oval, Elephant & Castle and the City of London. The route runs non-stop from Stockwell to all its destinations, but the route is not entirely traffic-free.[24]

Just to the north of Stockwell, Cycle Superhighway 5 (CS5) terminates in a junction with CS7, linking Victoria and Millbank to Stockwell using a cycle track, separating cyclists from other road traffic.[25]

Quietway 5 (Q5) runs on residential streets in the north of Stockwell, offering a slower but quieter signposted route direct to Clapham or Waterloo.[26]

With two Cycle Superhighways in the locale, many junctions in the area are equipped with cycling infrastructure. Santander Cycles, a bike-sharing system in London, operates in Stockwell.

References
  1. "Welcome to the Stockwell Park Residents' Association (SPRA) website". stockwellpark.com. Stockwell Park Residents' Association. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  2. "Stockwell Park Road". Stockwell Park Residents' Association. Archived from the original on 27 April 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  3. "Stockwell Park Crescent". Stockwell Park Residents' Association. Archived from the original on 7 October 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  4. "Snaring the Stockwell Strangler". BBC News.
  6. "Councillors". Moderngov.lambeth.gov.uk. Lambeth Council. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  7. "London Borough council elections" (PDF). londondatastore-upload.s3.amazonaws.com. Greater London Council. 6 May 1982. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  9. "Welcome to Allen Edwards School". London Grid for Learning. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  10. UK, The Hideout. "Home Page". Archived from the original on 3 November 2008.
  11. "Platanos College - Home".
  12. John Major (1999). John Major: The Autobiography. Harper Collins. p. 82.
  13. Shoard, Catherine (14 March 2011). "SXSW 2011: Joe Cornish on aliens, hoodies and Attack the Block". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  14. "Tube and Rail". Transport for London. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  15. "Multi-year station entry-and-exit figures" (XLSX). London Underground station passenger usage data. Transport for London. January 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  16. "OpenStreetMap". OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  17. "TfL Base Map" (PDF). Transport for London (TfL). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2018.
  18. "Air Quality in Lambeth: A Guide for Public Health Professionals" (PDF). Mayor of London. September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2017.
  19. "A Guide to Protect Against Air Pollution" (PDF). Lambeth. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2019.
  20. "London Borough of Lambeth Air Quality Annual Status Summary Report for 2016" (PDF). London Borough of Lambeth. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2019.
  21. "Air Quality: Annual Status Report, 2017" (PDF). London Borough of Lambeth. 31 May 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2019.
  22. "Stockwell bus map" (PDF). tfl.gov.uk. Transport for London. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  23. "National Express Timetables Route List". timetables.nationalexpress.com. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  24. "Merton to City: CS7" (PDF). Transport for London (TfL). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2018.
  25. "CS5 direct from Oval to Pimlico" (PDF). Transport for London (TfL). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2018.
  26. "Quietway 5: Waterloo to Norbury" (PDF). Transport for London (TfL). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2018.

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